RWBY: The Ronin of Beacon
by ChaoticCrazy
Summary: Professor Qrow holds many secrets, but one of them not even his nieces knew of until they arrived at Beacon. After a catastrophe makes a student at Signal the only survivor from his team, Qrow takes the student from his academy to teach; an apprentice. A ronin.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Drinks and Grimm Don't Mix

"You know Professor, I know you tend to not have the soundest ideas, but this is one I would say borders on insane." The boy told the older man, crouched on a lower hanging branch in a tree.

"It's certainly not insane." The man told the boy, hefting his large sword over his shoulder as he looked down below at their target. "Not when we have the patience to wait for the right opportunity."

"To what, jump on a Death Stalker and kill it before its buddies know we're here?" The boy said sarcastically, resting his hand on the handle of his own sword, still sheathed on his hip.

"Well isn't it common sense to kill the biggest Grimm around before dealing with the small fry, my apprentice?" He looked down below them at the scorpion-like Grimm below them and took his sword off his shoulder, ready to drop onto the beast.

"Yes, Professor Qrow." The student said with a sigh of resignation before waving a hand to gesture to the professor to go first.

Qrow dropped down a moment later, his sword coming down in a vicious slashing arc as it decapitated the Grimm's chittering head from the rest of its carapace.

The other male gave a whistle of admiration before jumping down after him, landing in the remains of the Death Stalker as it was already vanishing in a wave of black ash.

"Now then, Mr. Kuribayashi, I want you to deal with everything else." Qrow told him with a smile.

"And what do you intend to do while I fight the remaining Grimm?" The boy questioned, already looking around them as he heard some of the monsters running and stomping through the brush towards their position.

The teacher gave a chuckle before he pulled out a metal flask from under his coat and said "Me? I'll just have a drink against the tree over there while you do the heavy lifting, Geoffrey."

Geoffrey shook his head at his teacher, already turning his gaze on a Beowolf that made it out of the treeline and making a beeline for him.

"Typical." The boy muttered to himself before he spread his feet shoulder width apart, his left hand resting on the handle of his katana, waiting until the Grimm was almost upon him before drawing it in a smooth, forward arc, the blade slicing through the middle of the Beowolf's head, from its open maw to the back of its skull, the beast crashing in a heap behind the boy as he pivoted around, glancing at his work for a moment before looking for his next target.

"Your iajutsu is marvelous as always." Qrow commented dryly as he took a swig of his alcohol. "But most fights against the Grimm don't end in one move."

To prove the man's point, four more Beowolves came into the clearing next, all of them hungry for blood as they ran towards Geoffrey again.

One of them made a swipe at the boy, intent on slashing him open, only for him to bring his sword up and block the blow, the long blade stopping the claws mere inches from his body as he twisted the blade and cut the Grimm's hand off, rolling forward to avoid getting pounced on by yet another Beowolf and spinning around in time to parry another's jaws from taking his head off.

"Your defensive skills are good, but you still don't take the offensive at the beginning of a fight." Qrow critiqued. "Aggression is necessary to defeat Grimm in battle, Geoffrey."

Ignoring the jibe, he grabbed the saya (scabbard) of his weapon, using his right hand to pull it out of the loop attached to his hip and slammed it into the Beowolf's face, the hard metal with steel reinforced inserts leaving parts of its face caved in as he followed up with a stab, the blade going through the Grimm's upper jaw and out the back of its skull before Geoffrey withdrew the weapon and pivoted to the side, blocking yet another blow from the fourth Beowolf.

Parrying a strike from one of its paws he caught its jaws with his saya, twisting enough to get alongside the Beowolf's face and bringing his weapon down in a slash, decapitating the beast before he rolled to the side, barely avoiding getting hit by the now one-pawed Beowolf from earlier.

"Better, but still needs some refinement." Qrow said, taking another swig of alcohol.

Geoffrey took a deep breath to calm himself down a little as he parried a strike with his saya before sliding under the one-pawed creature and slashing his katana down the length of its chest, gutting him before swinging his legs to the side, giving him the room necessary to cut off one of the beast's hind legs, rolling away to avoid the Beowolf as it collapsed in a howling heap before he got to his feet slowly.

Looking around him, he failed to notice the last Beowolf as it slashed his back, the blow sending the boy stumbling forward a few paces, though unsurprisingly none the worse for wear as he snarled and turned around, mercilessly striking the Beowolf with a series of cuts and slashes until it died from the sheer ferocity of the strikes, enough red lines across its body to make the wolf more red than black in its final moments.

"Be thankful your aura saved you there, or else any normal being would be dead now." Qrow warned humorously, too busy drinking to look like he was paying close attention. "But your aggression is getting better, it just needs some fine tuning."

Looking around for more targets, Geoffrey gave a smirk as an Ursa lumbered into the clearing, and he charged at it, his blade to his side as he closed the distance. The Ursa slashed at him with one of its large paws, but the student had aimed himself past the Grimm and came up on its right side, his blade leaving a long line of red as it cuts into its hide before he grabbed one of its bony spurs and swung onto its back, almost like he intended to ride it, that is until he slid his saya back into its loop as he landed on the beast and used both his hands to bring the weapon down into the creature's neck in a downwards stab, before pulling it to the side, the blade ripping itself out the side of the Ursa's neck before Geoffrey rolled off the beast, sheathing his blade as it faded away from existence.

Walking over to Qrow, the student took his flask from him and said "Give me some of that." before taking a swig of the drink himself.

Barely withholding a cough, he added "That's some strong stuff" before passing the flask back to his teacher.

"Of course, Signal Whiskey is something I brew myself." Qrow said with one of his signature smirks.

Taking a bit more of a serious tone, he said "You did good out there, better than most of the other students in your class at Signal. I'd daresay you'd make a top tier Hunter if it weren't for the fact that you have trouble sticking with just one team."

"Hey, it's not my fault I can't find a team I'm willing to stick with." The boy said with a shrug, hoping his mentor wouldn't bring up an old subject once more.

"True, but that also means you'll never find that dynamic in a group where everyone knows what the others going to do in a battle before they even say anything. That is a truly remarkable team. And in our world, a team of Hunters and Huntresses will go alot further than any individual." Qrow lectured him, pointing the now empty flask at him for emphasis.

Giving a sigh, the man said "You've been my apprentice for what, going on two years now, Geoffrey?"

Thinking it over for a moment, the young man nodded his head in the affirmative as he said "Yeah, should be two years after this week's over."

Nodding sagely, his teacher said "Then I have an offer for you that I hope you would consider."

Raising an eyebrow, the boy leaned against the tree next to Qrow, looking up at him as he asked "What's the offer?"

Qrow stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned back against the tree as well, collecting his thoughts before speaking.

"Both of my nieces are going to enter Beacon Academy this coming school year. You already know one of them as a student here, a Miss Ruby Rose. You know her, right?"

"Well who doesn't know her at Signal?" was Geoffrey's reply. "She's the only person here who uses a scythe for a weapon, besides you of course. That and she is near the top of her class when it comes to combat training, so of course I would know of her. Can't say I've met her in person though."

"Well she just got accepted into Beacon yesterday, and now we only have one slot left from Signal to give to someone to transfer to Beacon." Qrow told him, turning to look at him.

"So you want me to go to Beacon then?" Geoffrey asked him, curious. "Why?"

Qrow gave a sigh before he gave the student an answer. "The staff here are great, don't get me wrong, but other than myself I don't think you're going to improve anymore here at Signal. I know many of the people at Beacon, including their Headmaster, and I know your potential would be much better received there than here. Second, I'm hoping once you get to Beacon you might just be able to find a team you can actually stick with rather than wander from team to team."

Geoffrey gave a dry chuckle at that, though the humor didn't reach his eyes as he said "Well, I didn't earn my nickname the ronin for nothing, Professor."

"True, but you can't stay beholden to only yourself forever." Qrow said with a worn smile. "It gets old fast. Believe it from someone who's had enough experience with that to last a lifetime."

Geoffrey nodded in understanding at his teacher's words of wisdom, not particularly happy to accept them, as he asked "There's more to it that that, isn't there?"

Qrow finally gave a bout of laughter as he said "Well kid, you're definitely sharper than I give you credit for. Yes, I kinda am a selfish bastard for asking you to go. You see, I trust my nieces, they can handle themselves in a fight, and I trust them to stay out of trouble. But I know I can't be there to help them if they do get into trouble, so I was wondering if you could keep an eye on them."

Geoffrey was about to protest and say he wasn't a babysitter before Qrow raised his hands and continued.

"Let me explain. I don't expect you to keep an eye on them around the clock, or try and get buddy buddy with them over me. I just want you to make sure that if trouble comes a knocking at Beacon for whatever reason you're there to make sure they don't get killed."

The dark explanation was enough to have Geoffrey raise an eyebrow and ask "You're not serious, are you? The kingdoms have gotten safer for the past few generations, and whoever would even think of attacking one of the academies would need to be suicidal, if not insane."

Qrow gave him a serious look as he rested a hand on his shoulder and responded quietly. "Geoffrey, I have seen many things happen in my life, dark things, terrible things. I pray that they never happen again, but that's why I want you at Beacon, so if anything does happen, I know someone's there to help that wont see it as a distraction to keep an eye on my nieces."

Sighing, Geoffrey looked down for a moment before looking Qrow in the eye. "You really care for them, don't you?"

"They're my family. I'd give my life for them, just as I would give my life for my last team and you." Qrow said seriously, before letting his hand drop from his shoulder.

Taking a step back, he asked "So will you do it?"

Shaking his head, Geoffrey finally said after a few moments of silence "Thank you for teaching me for this long, Professor Qrow, but I guess I'm going to be a Beacon student now."

That brought a large smile on Qrow's face, before he put an arm around Geoffrey's shoulders and said "Wonderful! Now let's celebrate the occasion by going to one of my favorite bars and getting our asses drunk!"

Giving a sigh of exasperation, the younger man said "Don't you mean I take one shot after you pass it under the table and then I proceed to walk you home after you've drank enough to be blabbering on the floor in a drunken stupor?"

"Yes, but this way I can celebrate with you one more time before you leave." Qrow replied. "It's gonna be weird not having a drinking buddy afterwards, you know?"

"Isn't that what Specialist Schnee is for?"

"Not exactly…"


	2. Old Friends and Old Baggage

Chapter 2: Old Friends and Old Baggage

Geoffrey stood there, staring up at the towers of Beacon Academy in mild awe, the towers rising up into the sky like fingers reaching for the heavens. He knew that leaving Signal would be an interesting experience, especially since it would be with new people, and he would have to see who he could make friends with, but at that moment, the place couldn't have felt more...alien to him. It was new territory, uncharted, unexplored, a place to boldly go, where he had never gone before.

The seventeen year old unconsciously fiddled with the synthetic fiber loop holding his katana in place on his kimono, trying to distract himself as he looked at the different people around him, running a hand through his short hair as he looked around, trying to maintain his composure as he went through the main archway leading into the rear courtyard and turned around a corner to start asking people for directions to the headmasters office.

What he wasn't expecting was to round the corner and see a familiar face. Looking up, his face broke out into a grin as he saw a tall asian man wearing a rather worn robe with a five-plate piece of shoulder armor and a rather large orange sword strapped across his back. "Yatsuhashi! Long time, no see!"

The bigger man turned to look at Geoffrey and said "Little Sakura! It's nice to see you after all these years! You made it into Beacon, I see!"

"Sure did, big guy!" Geoffrey said as they gave each other a hug. "I'm guessing you got in from Sanctum?"

"Yes, I'm just starting my second year here!" Yatsuhashi told him with pride. "I'm guessing your training with the Professor got you in?"

"Yes, two years working with him is most of the reason how I ended up here." The ronin affirmed, though lowering his voice in his reply. He didn't like talking about his connection with Qrow much, with Yatsuhashi being one of the few people he trusted with knowing that information.

"Well, at least it means I have a chance of testing my skills against yours, cousin." The bigger male said with a smirk, changing the subject as he recognized Geoffrey's sensitivity to the topic. "It's not often I get the chance to fight someone who can hold their ground as well as me, let alone family."

"Yes, us tanks get underappreciated. And yes, it's nice to see family in the bunch." Geoffrey said with a chuckle. "So what are your thoughts on the competition here?"

"Well from the looks of it we'll have plenty of good fights up ahead. Between the people coming from Signal and Sanctum, we've got quite a few people coming from the regular academies, as well as some higher profile individuals." Daichi explained. "I've heard everything from one of Professor Qrow's nieces getting in at the last minute to one of the daughters of the Schnee family getting a spot. Heck, words floating around that one of the champions of Mistral got a spot here at the school."

Nodding his head approvingly, Geoffrey said "Yup, things are really gonna get fun this year then." Looking around for a moment, he finally decided to let the greeting end as he said "Anyways, I'm actually trying to find the headmasters office. You happen to know the fastest way to get there?"

"Yes actually, you go through the main hall and you make a turn to the right before you take an elevator to the top floor." Thinking it over for a moment, the Hunter said "Why don't I just guide you there instead actually, since I think this is your first time here?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Geoffrey gave a small smile before responding to the inquiry. "Sure, besides, it'll give me time to catch up with things with you."

He fell in step next to his larger cousin, the two of them starting to speak casually like old friends as they caught up on what they had missed.

"So is Professor Qrow as interesting as the legends say?" Yatsuhashi asked him, his voice exposing his curiosity.

"He is indeed a bit of a character." Geoffrey said with a chuckle. "On the one hand he seems utterly disorganized and a complete mess. He's dragged me to more bars than I could ever possibly need to go to, and has had me drink enough drinks under questionable circumstances to last me for quite some time. Yet on the other hand, he's a wealth of knowledge that slowly showed me more than a few pieces of wisdom, and his skills in combating the Grimm is outstanding enough to even make me envious of his abilities."

"Talk about two sides of the same coin." Yatsuhashi commented jokingly as they entered the main hall. "Though it seems like he would definitely fit in as a professor. Certainly reminds me of my history professor. He's a hyperactive faunus that can never stop drinking coffee, but he's more knowledgeable of the history of this planet than most of the school combined."

"Ha, I might just ask for some of that coffee if it gives me the knowledge to recall thousands of years of history." Geoffrey replied with a smirk, before they turned to the right and entered an elevator.

"Top floor you said?" Geoffrey asked him.

"Yes." Yatsuhashi nodded, pressing the button and slowly starting the trip to the top.

"So then are the stories of Ozpin true?" Geoffrey asked his cousin, curious to know more.

"He's a rather mysterious person. He doesn't say much of himself, but he is certainly quite the orator and if he didn't have the skills of a master Huntsman I doubt he would be a headmaster." Yatsuhashi told him, shifting slightly as he realized he took up most of the room in the elevator. "And I guess if you want to know if some tales are you, you can always ask him yourself."

"Maybe, though then again everyone should enjoy keeping their secrets." Geoffrey told him, his voice turning serious as he thought of his own past. "Some things are better kept that way."

The large man raised an eyebrow at his relative, but simply nodded his head in understanding as he said "True, but sharing the pain may help relieve you of some of it."

Geoffrey didn't have time to give a reply as the doors opened, and the two were already stepping into a rather large room, one with a large window exposing the front of the academy, as well as the sight of the city of Vale in the distance, as well as dozens of large clockwork gears moving slowly, methodically, all while one man sat behind a large desk, having already been expecting their arrival.

"Mr. Daichi, Mr. Kuribayashi, please, have a seat." The man said, sitting up straight as he set a cup of coffee down on his desk.

The middle aged man coolly looked over his small spectacles, his brown eyes easily boring into Geoffrey's own as the headmaster focused his attention on him, not even turning to look to the side as he pulled out a folder from one of the drawers of his desk.

"Geoffrey Sakura Kuribayashi. Seventeen, one of the top students from Signal Academy, and recommended by a Professor Qrow Branwen for a transfer into Beacon." The headmaster set the folder down in front of him and crossed his hands, focusing entirely on the boy.

"From what I have been told, you are one of the best students Qrow has taught, and his argument for allowing you in was on the grounds that Beacon would expand your potential as a Hunter more than Signal could. He speaks highly of your combat abilities, though I will admit, you will certainly be a unique case seeing as your reputation speaks to the fact that you may just be one of our first students to arrive here without entering the academy as a team."

"My nickname was well deserved then." Geoffrey said smoothly, working on maintaining eye contact with the man in front of him, measuring him up and seeing what impression he would get of him.

"Indeed. A ronin, by definition, is a warrior without a master. I assume that you picked up that title after the events involving your last team?"

The headmaster hit a sore point with him as Geoffrey took a breath before turning his gaze away. "Yes."

"Then would I also be correct in assuming part of the reason you are here is to find a team, and renounce the title you have built for the past two years?"

Geoffrey stayed silent on the question as Ozpin leaned back into his seat and studied the boy for a minute, before finally taking another sip of his coffee and saying "Well, in any case, we'll have to find a way to assign you to a second year team, and suffice to say with all of the teams holding four members, it will certainly be interesting to see how we can break tradition and incorporate a fifth member in, let alone seeing if any team will be willing to volunteer to incorporate you into their team, especially a year into their studies."

Yatsuhashi intervened at that moment, raising a question. "If I may be so bold, Headmaster, but might I suggest he take a look at my team? I am Geoffrey's cousin, so he would already know one person on the team, so introductions should not be as difficult as it would be with a team of strangers."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, taking another sip of coffee. "You're a member of Team CVFY, correct, Mr. Daichi? I thank you for the generous offer, but I do have some reservations on placing Mr. Kuribayashi into such a...unique setup. Your team is quite unusual, considering the personality it has grown over the past year is a mixture of astonishing and strange. I don't know how our new student will handle it, though I guess if he were to accept such an offer, it would be wrong of me to refuse."

Turning back to Geoffrey, Ozpin said "Would you like to give Team CVFY a try?"

Geoffrey sat there, looking between Yatsuhashi and Ozpin for a minute before he said "Well, what's the worst that can happen? Sure, I'll try working with Team CVFY."

Ozpin gave a chuckle as he said "I hope you're prepared for what lies ahead, your first year here will certainly prove entertaining. I'll trust Mr. Daishi with arranging to have you meet his team. And welcome to Beacon, Mr. Kuribayashi."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Geoffrey said, exiting his seat and bowing his head slightly before his new partner got up and also gave a bow before he followed him to the elevator.

If he had happened to look over his shoulder, he would've caught Ozpin giving a smirk at the two retreating figures, followed by him saying quietly to himself "That boy doesn't know what he's gotten himself into." Activating his scroll, the headmaster made a phone call, the person on the other end picking it up a few seconds later.

"Glynda, could you be so kind as to keep an eye on the sparring chambers? We might need you to mitigate a chance of major structural damage."

"So where's the rest of your team at?" Geoffrey asked as the elevator doors closed on the two of them.

Yatsuhashi replied. "Knowing Fox at least, neither would stay there for just an hour, they'd want to be practicing all day if given the chance."

"What about Velvet then?" Geoffrey inquired, slowing picking up on the names "I'm guessing she's not as interested in combat?"

"No, she is very interested in combat, and weapons." The larger man replied with a chuckle. "She just seems to do better as a fighter by observing other people fight and learning to mimics their movements."

"Oh, okay. That's certainly a way to learn it, that's for sure..." Geoffrey said slowly, not entirely believing his relative on his statement.

"Trust me, you'll understand why given enough time." Yatsuhashi said cryptically, before the elevator opened up again.

"Follow me, the chambers should only be a short walk from here." The warrior insisted good-naturedly as he strolled his way down a side chamber, the large man taking a surprisingly easy stride to keep up with as the smaller male kept pace, though still having to take a step and a half for every single step Yatsu made.

Looking around, Geoffrey took in the old, faded tapestries, the busts of different hunters and huntresses over the centuries lining the hall, and he almost fell into a day dream of seeing himself become one of those famous individuals when his cousin announced "We're here."

Yatsuhashi then opened a door and Geoffrey walked in with him, now seeing a circular arena as well as some stands down below, and from what he could see two people were fighting in the arena while another sat in the stands. Not paying immediate attention to the fight, Geoffrey focused on the woman in the stands, who had already turned around to get up and greet the two of them.

"Hey Yatsu, I'm guessing this is the new transfer student?" she asked.

Geoffrey assessed the woman, noting that she was only a few inches shorter than him, with an accent that certainly seemed rather foreign to him, and he definitely noticed the rabbit ears on her head denoting her as a faunus. She seemed to be wearing rather conservative attire, as well as what appeared to be a brown box strapped to her back.

She extended a hand to him and then said "I'm Velvet, Velvet Scarletina. Nice to finally meet you by the way. Yatsu's been saying a lot about you to me and Fox at least. Still not sure why he hasn't really mentioned you to Coco though…"

Alarm bells suddenly went through his head as he heard the name. Turning to Yatsuhashi, he had a face of mild fear and surprise as he grabbed his cousin by the shirt and said "Please don't tell me she's on the team…"

Yatsu have a helpless expression as he raised his hands and said "I'm sorry! It just conveniently slipped my mind, especially since I thought that was all in the past…"

The conversation took a turn for the worse as Geoffrey was already drawing his blade, sliding it along the length of his saya as it transformed into an M4 carbine, leveling the rifle down at the arena in time to catch one of the fighters turn and level her gatling gun at the stands.

Velvet had a look of extreme surprise as she said "Is their something I should know about?"

"You asshole! What the hell are you doing here?!" A female voice yelled, the barrels of her weapon still spinning.

"Well I certainly would've thought twice about showing up if I had known you were on the team!" Geoffrey yelled back, weapon still pointed down into the arena.

"Ok, what is going on?" Fox said, trying to understand the situation as he put his weapons away.

"Well, too late now…" Yatsuhashi said with a sigh of defeat, though he had to put quite a bit of effort to avoid letting a smirk show on his face.

"Guys…" Geoffrey said with a sigh.

"Team…" Coco said with an easily felt sense of sarcasm and sharpness.

"...Meet my ex."


	3. Hot Coco and Cherry Blossoms Clash

Chapter 3: Hot Coco and Cherry Blossoms Clash

The room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, save for the sound of Coco's gatling gun still spinning, an eight pound trigger pull away from sending a wave of bullets up towards Geoffrey.

"Wait...you two...dated?" Velvet asked, the first to finally speak up. "How…? What…? Why…?" The entire time her rabbit ears were folded over in confusion, the woman raising her hands in front of her and waving them, still wondering how this all came about.

"It's a long story." Coco and Yatsuhashi said at the same time, causing Geoffrey to look behind him as he said "Don't tell me she told you everything."

Giving a rather sad nod in the affirmative, Yatsu said "What else did you expect?"

"Anyways, give me a real good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now." Coco said sharply, her weapon still leveled at him.

"It'd be a waste of ammo." Geoffrey said with a sneer.

"What, because you're not worth the ammo?" Coco shot back with a rather forced smile.

"No, because I can soak up your rounds and get to you in one piece by the time you run out of ammo." the ronin responded snarkily to the jab.

"You son of a…" the leader of Team CVFY cursed before she pulled the trigger, scores of bullets exiting the gatling gun as Geoffrey rolled to the side, the rounds striking where he had last stood and forcing Velvet and Yatsuhashi to duck for cover as Geoffrey moved to the side and away from the two, the bullets following after him as he jumped down sets of seats i nthe stands.

He felt a few rounds slam into him, activating a light blue aura around him as the bullets bounced off him, leaving only small welts on his skin as he kept running, keeping his rifle close to his chest as he worked on using the chairs for cover.

The rounds tore through the seats like pincushions, destroying Geoffrey's idea as he changed course and rolled through the wave of bullets, catching a few more rounds, but getting to his feet and rushing down the flight of steps towards the arena as Coco had to react and move her weapon back on target.

Geoffrey fired a few rounds at her, the 5.56mm rounds missing her face by inches as she flinched in response, the gatling gun missing the samurai by feet as he dove into the arena, changing his rifle back into its sword and sheath form as he charged his ex head-on, using his blade and sheath to block an overwhelming majority of the rounds, bullets pinging every which way as they were put into the ground, the ceiling, the walls around him, though he felt the impact of the gun as bullets slammed into him, peppering him with dozens of shots across the twenty meter distance to his opponent,, the rounds bouncing off of him and leaving him covered in welts before the gunfire ended with just a low buzzing sound.

Coco cursed as she heard her gun run dry, and was about to start reloading it when she felt a wood object slam into one of her hands, causing her to lose her grip on the gatling gun, followed by a blade stopping inches from her neck.

"Told you that you needed a larger belt." Geoffrey said, before he shifted the blade away from her neck and spat off to the side, a glob of blood slamming into the sand before he wiped the rest of it from his mouth with one of his sleeves.

Sheathing his weapon, he barely noticed the fact that as he sheathed the blade a few cherry blossom petals fell from where the sword entered the sheath, fluttering to the ground serenely before he stepped on them, covering them from view. He then proceeded to stare Coco down, who stood her ground and glared right back at him, the aggression and anger hanging in the air before he finally said "It's been what, eighteen months?"

Nodding, she said quietly "Seventeen, going on eighteen."

Looking down and to the side, he said with a rather forced degree of restraint ,"Look, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did. Looking back on it, I know there are some decisions I wish I could change in a heartbeat."

"But you didn't." she replied sharply, jabbing him in the chest with a finger, causing him to take a step back from the force of the jab. "After what happened to your team, you shut me out! You couldn't tell me a damn thing, and then you go off and work for Professor Qrow for months on end, not even bothering to stop by and say hello even! Why else did you think I broke it off and left for here? To get away from it all?"

"Can you blame me for wanting to become stronger, to be able to make sure what happened then never happened again?" Geoffrey shot back, struggling to avoid raising his voice. "How would you feel if the rest of your team died and you were the only one left to pick up the pieces? Hmmm?"

Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi stayed a fair distance away, not wanting to dive into the argument, though Velvet heard enough that her ears slumped, her cheery demeanor going out like a light.

"So that's why he's here by himself…" she said quietly. "It must be hard for him, having to live with that on his conscience…"

Yatsuhashi put a hand on the faunus's shoulder, shaking his head slowly. "It's been tough, but he's grown stronger since then. Two years of training under Professor Qrow has taught him more than even I was expecting."

"The Professor Qrow?" Fox asked from the other side of Yatsu. "One of the members of Team STRQ?"

"One of the survivors." Yatsuhashi corrected, drawing another sad look from Velvet.

"Funny," she said "How survivors come to find solace in each other..."

Meanwhile, Coco and Geoffrey still kept on arguing, the conversation sinking lower and lower as they went.

"...You may have lost your team, but that doesn't mean you should've cast the friends you had left away to go on some quest of revenge!" Coco whispered fiercely.

"And what, let that Grimm do what it did to me to Dust knows how many other teams?" Geoffrey questioned her.

"You may have seen it, but the rest of the world still believes it's just some legend that hasn't even been in the history books for centuries!"

"I know what I saw, and it was the one!" Geoffrey retorted. "Unfortunately, even two years later I still haven't found it."

"My point proven." Coco said. "And you gave everything up just to go after it on some wild goose-chase. You never change, do you?"

Glaring at her, Geoffrey's voice went even lower as he said quietly "I have changed, more than you know…"

Giving a huff, the girl crossed her arms in irritation before saying "Anyways, since I never got an answer, just why are you here?"

Jerking a thumb at Yatsuhashi, Geoffrey said sharply "I'll let him explain."

Recollecting her cool demeanor, Coco changed her gun back into its small box before striding over to the large warrior, stopping a few paces from him before she jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the ronin and asked "So why is the walking moth ball here?"

"Well…" Yatsuhashi explained, rubbing the back of his head. "I kinda told Ozpin that I'd volunteer to have Geoffrey try our team out first to see if he could fill in as a fifth member…"

"Fifth member?" Coco asked, her voice going up. "You know as well as I do all teams are made of four people! It's tradition!"

"Well apparently an exception was made for him. And knowing the headmasters reasons I would trust that he had a good reason behind it." Fox said logically, stepping in to try and cool Coco down before she went overboard.

"What, to make my life miserable?" Coco retorted at the fox faunus. "Part of the reason I left Signal was to never see him again, and here he waltz's in like nothing's changed. And now you expect me to let him try out as a member of our already complete team? Are you all insane?"

"I'd be willing to give him a chance." Velvet said with a sad smile. "He's been alone ever since he lost his team. Maybe making him a part of Team CVFY can be the medicine for a wounded soul?"

Coco was about to yell at the nicest member of the team when she stopped, her brain finally processing what she had said. Internally she felt conflicted, the thought of her ex sticking around making her heart boil. Yet, maybe the circumstances were what was needed, and maybe if Velvet was right, she could see the Geoffrey she remembered when she was a second year at Signal, for the first time in years.

Looking away, her voice turned to ice as she said "Fine. But if he screws up, I have no qualms about kicking him out with my high heel so far up his ass he'll need a colonoscopy to find it."

She then proceeded to leave the room, her heels clicking loudly on the steps as she left, leaving the rest of the team to handle Geoffrey.

The young man stared at the retreating figure for a moment before he gave a scowl and said "Well that wasn't the first impression I wanted."

"Well you're certainly one of the few people I've ever met that can get her worked up like that." Fox said with a hint of surprise. "Usually she's the epitome of calm and collected."

"She wasn't always like that…" Geoffrey said, before dropping his comment, deeming it better to leave it alone.

"Well I guess we should try and move on and fill Coco in afterwards." Yatsuhashi said slowly. "For the time being you're stuck with us, so why don't we show you around the school, show you where everythings at and all?"

"Well, I guess we can, though it means we'll be intermingling with all the first years coming off the airships." Fox said, giving a sigh as he said "Hopefully they're not as bad as some of our classmates last year…"

"I hope not, though if they are we can always just wait it out until some of them get kicked out of the academy." Yatsuhashi reassured him. "Don't you remember that Ozpin sent two teams packing last year alone?"

"Well yes, thankfully he got the worst of the worst out, though some of them are still hanging around…" Velvet replied, one of her hands instinctively brushing one of her ears as if to reassure herself that they weren't going to get tugged by some imaginary bully.

Giving a sigh, Geoffrey said "Sure, show me around. Hopefully by the end of today I can guarantee I won't get hopelessly lost around the school."

Heaving a sigh of relief at the rest of the team seemingly receptive to the idea of Geoffrey joining them, Yatsuhashi gave a smile as he said "Well, let's take you on a tour then!"

A few minutes after the rest of Team CVFY had left the sparring chamber, another person stepped in, assessing the damages before she pulled out a riding crop and activated some form of spell, strands of purple aura extending from the end of the crop and wrapping its way around the shredded seats and steps, slowly putting them back together again as she cast another spell, the chunks of rock gone removed from one end of the arena slowly getting reset while she swept all the spent brass to the side, the empty cartridges forming a sizeable pile off to one side as Glynda shook her head.

Activating her Scroll, the teacher made a call, and before the person on the other end could speak after picking up the line, she was already talking to him.

"Surprisingly the damage was limited. One side of the arena was a mess and a quarter of the chairs had to get put back together, but it wasn't as terrible as you were making it out to be."

"I guess Mr. Kuribayashi got off lucky then." Ozpin responded with a chuckle. "Thank you for checking in on the place afterwards, Ms. Goodwitch. I'll make sure that you don't have to worry about anything else until the introduction ceremony for the first years."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Glynda said curtly before shutting off the scroll with a huff.

"I swear, that man is going to drive me to drink like goddamn Qrow..."

 **Hey, first authors note for y'all! Anyways, I kinda decided to give into a story like this to finally get a story for my OC that I've used in a couple RWBY forums, and as a way to commemorate Monty after finishing Season 3. I'll see about trying to get a chapter up every week from here on out, though if I decide to do a longer chapter expecting it to take longer. Reviews and constructive criticism would be gladly appreciated!**


	4. Touring, Fighting, and an Offer

Chapter 4: Touring, Fighting, and an Offer

"And here you'll find the main library, which should have enough literature that professors want you to read, and most likely have written, that will keep you occupied for days." Fox said with a hint of humour, as if he knew from experience.

"If spending time in the sparring chambers doesn't keep me busy enough." Geoffrey joked as he followed the three students around, soaking up as much information as he could like a sponge. "Then again I'll just be happy when I get the rest of my stuff into my room and get issued a locker."

"You mean you're not going to be living in our room?" Yatsuhashi inquired.

"No, at least not yet." Geoffrey told him. "I haven't officially been assigned to a team yet, so until then I've got a room to myself."

"Lucky." Velvet said. "I'd kill to stay in a room where I'm not getting woken up by Coco's snoring. I swear that it's even scarier than her gun."

Geoffrey had to bite his lip to avoid bursting into laughter, before finally saying "Yep, I'm sure it makes for a great anti-Grimm security measure on missions."

"Actually, that could explain why we haven't been jumped by any Grimm in the forest yet." Fox suggested, drawing a trio of looks towards him before they all broke out into laughter.

Stepping into the main courtyard, they were just in time to see the first airship unload its cargo of excited passengers as the second year's paused to take in the scene.

"Remember when that was us last year?" Velvet said, drawing a pair of nods from her two male teammates. "I remember being a nervous wreck when I stepped out, and dealing with those guys bullying me and pulling my ears…"

"Yeah, I remember that. It felt really nice to knock them senseless with my blade." Yatsuhashi said with some zeal, though a hint of anger could be traced to his voice as well. "At least they won't bother you anymore."

"Gee, I wonder why, seeing as the one that pulled on her ears was stuck in the infirmary for weeks for broken bones and a concussion." Fox said sarcastically, drawing a sharp retort from his larger comrade.

"It wasn't my fault he decided to go for his weapon rather than run for cover!"

"Okay, point made, Big Guy." Geoffrey intervened, getting between the two men right as he saw a couple freshmen go by. One was a tall female with bright yellow hair, with a leather jacket and shorts that caused him to raise an eyebrow as he studied her figure. Another was a shorter female, mostly covered in a red cloak, though even Geoffrey knew her on sight. Then again, any student from Signal would know the girl, considering the reputation she had built over the past few years. Finally, he saw a girl wearing a silver dress and followed by a butler pushing a dolly filled with boxes and bags, finally causing him to whistle as he said "Well, the market of attractive females went through the roof at least."

The result was an awkward sweatdrop from Velvet, followed by Yatsuhashi smacking his relative across the back of his head as he said sternly "Don't let Qrow corrupt you like that, Little Sakura."

"What, he didn't tell me his nieces were hotter than the sun in the middle of July!" he argued, sticking his arms out in front of him and gesturing at the two girls moving away from them to prove his point.

"That doesn't mean you can whistle and stare at them just like your mentor, however." Yatsuhashi sharply replied, glaring at him.

"Hey, I let him have his fun drinking and pushing Specialist Schnee's buttons, so my fun is mild compared to his." Giving a sigh, he waved his cousin off and started to walk away as he added "But fine, I'll try and keep the whistling and commentary down to a minimum."

He had made it a few steps with Yatsuhashi following close behind him when he heard something going on behind him.

Looking over his shoulder, Geoffrey paused as he saw Velvet in a mild state of shock with Fox struggling to keep his anger from showing as a freshman seemed to target the rabbit faunus for some ridicule.

The large male seemed to sneer in enthusiasm as he pulled one of Velvet's ears, eliciting a small cry of pain from the latter as the male cracked off remark after remark.

"You sure you're actually a faunus? You seem too cute to be one, and the ears don't even feel like they have real fur on it. Heck, even if you were, that'd give me all the more reason to treat you like the little animal you are."

Geoffrey instinctively brought a hand up to stop Yatsu as he felt him surge forward, the combination of Geoffrey's arm and Velvet gesturing at her teammates to stop, bringing only a momentary halt from the large and gentle man.

"Sakura, there's a piece of raw meat I need to take out and chop into some teriyaki…" the boy told him, steel in his voice as he felt an overwhelming urge to help his teammate.

"Let me handle it." Geoffrey said quietly. "In this situation, a little restraint may prove more useful than unbridled rage. And make me a little less hungry."

Cardin Winchester didn't see the boy coming as he saw a hand dart forward and harshly wrap around his wrist, loosening his grip enough to force him to release the rabbit Faunus' ear, as well as also eliciting a sharp cry of pain as the person pushed him back enough to force him back a step.

Turning to look at the assailant, he smirked as he realized he was staring down at him. The boy couldn't be taller than five foot nine, maybe ten, and his figure made it easy to see he wasn't a beefy fighter. The boy stared up at him, calmly, his expression unreadable as he glanced to the boy's hand and saw it resting on a katana shoved through a belt. Combined with the dull and well worn blue kimono the boy wore, Cardin took him to be easy prey.

"Buzz off, kid." he told him, bringing a hand up to push the kid back.

The hand was countered with another hand, this one in a fist as it contacted with his palm and caused him to hiss as he recoiled, his hand stinging from the strike.

"You think you can mess with Cardin Winchester and get away with it, punk?" The bully said, his face contorted in annoyance as he grabbed the large mace on his belt. "Then get a taste of this!"

He swung the mace down in a downwards arc, intending on pulverizing the impudent fool where he stood, only to have a look of surprise cross his face as the boy pivoted on one foot, turning sideways and letting the blunt force trauma weapon go past him, landing in front of the kids feet with a loud thump as it left a small crater in the concrete.

Cardin looked up in time to see the kid grab the handle of his weapon with his left hand and turned in time to have the end of the handle slam into his face with a surprising level of force, causing him to stumble sideways, yanking his weapon out of the ground as he snarled in rage at his opponent.

"You really need to learn some manners, kid." the stranger told him, now staring at him in the eye, a strange glint in his eye causing Cardin to feel...apprehensive?

"You really need to learn some manners, kid." Geoffrey said quietly, taking in his opponent. It was easy to see he enjoyed using strength to his advantage, his weapon and choice of displays of brute force giving him plenty of ammunition to use against the bully as he slid Fukyu-no Doragon the few inches it needed to go to be safely back in her sheath.

"Now, if you actually want to fight, I suggest you put some more effort into it."

The two of them were drawing a small crowd, freshmen ogling the two of them as he heard faint whispers in the crowd.

"Is that Cardin Winchester? The son of Sam Winchester, the movie star?" one of them said. "Who's he taking on?"

"I don't know, but the other guy doesn't look like he's backing down." another person said, drawing a sigh of relief from Geoffrey as he thanked Oum none of them knew him for his reputation.

The ronin was suddenly interrupted by the bully, who was charging at him with his mace as he yelled "You're gonna pay for this!"

The mace came down in another pulverizing blow, this time deflected by Geoffrey's blade as he drew it smoothly, angling it so the handle of the mace scraped along its length before the weapon buried itself next to the swordsman's right foot, before slapping the flat of his blade against the boys back, eliciting a cry of pain from him as the boy pulled his mace out and swung from below, this time the weapon being stopped by Geoffrey's sheath as he angled the sheath with his free hand and allowed the mace to slam into his sheath, stopping the boy again as he slammed the hilt of his katana against the side of the boy's head.

Cardin snarled in fury as he brought his mace up to push Geoffrey back, instead causing him to stumble back a few steps and forcing him to reassess his opponent, who seemed unfazed as he let his blade move to his side, edge pointed down.

Moving in again, the Winchester took a more thorough approach, using one hand to swing his mace in a series of blows against the smaller warrior, fully intending on resorting to his tried and true tactic of wearing his opponent down through the sheer force of his strikes.

What he wasn't expecting was the flash of blade and sheath as each strike was deflected, the head of the mace redirected a few degrees in each blow as the weapon missed Geoffrey's face and bodice by mere centimeters, each time only saved by the placement of his katana and sheath to redirect the strike, the pattern going on for quite a few minutes.

But what caused the boy to worry wasn't so much that his attacks were being blunted, but by the realization that his opponent hadn't moved at all, his feet staying exactly where they had been since he sidestepped that initial blow.

His arrogance, however, caused him to miss an important variable as he never saw that over the course of each of his blows the blood channel running down the length of Geoffrey's blade was turning a brighter and brighter shade of blue, until it seemed to beam a sort of radiance as Geoffrey crossed his katana and sheath, blocking the latest overhead blow before pushing up and away, throwing Cardin off balance enough that he stumbled back.

He never got the chance to recover as the ronin rotated the blade so that the flat edge faced Cardin, before he hit him in a sideways slash across Cardin's gut, a terrific blue explosion erupting from the blade as the six and a half foot tall male flew back a few meters, slamming into a concrete wall designed to protect a tree from traveling students, winded as Geoffrey closed the distance and slammed the hilt of his blade into the man's forehead, forcing him to his knees in a daze before the second year took one of his boots and kicked him in the chestplate, sending him back in an undignified heap.

"I suggest you leave her alone, or else next time I won't be so restrained." Geoffrey said rather coldly, sheathing his weapon and turning away from his opponent, his gaze casting over the crowd briefly as he noted the looks of surprise in many of the observer's faces, though he paused long enough to scrutinize one girl, dressed in black and white and with an easily identifiable bow on her head, who seemed absolutely terrified by the display he had given, before he looked away and focused on Velvet and the other two members of Team CVFY.

Bending over enough to extended a hand to Velvet, he said "I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble before I intervened."

Velvet looked both relieved and annoyed at him, saying "Thanks, but you didn't have to hurt him that badly to get your point across."

Giving a thin smile, Geoffrey gave a low chuckle as he said "He deserved exactly what he got, and consider that he got off lightly, seeing as Yatsuhashi was intending on outright killing him. He'll be stuck in the infirmary for a few hours, but otherwise he'll be fine. The only lasting damage I gave him was to his ego."

The faunus turned to look at her teammate, curious as she said "You were actually going to kill him?"

The large man awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he kept his gaze away from Velvet as he said sheepishly "I wasn't going to kill him. Maim him horribly, maybe have him lose an arm, but not kill him…heck, I could've just lopped an ear off to compensate for him pulling your ear…"

Velvet seemed surprised by the response, turning away with a huff, though not without Geoffrey noticing her cheeks were red, causing him to snicker as she left, Yatsuhashi apologizing profusely as he followed her.

"Oh, I am going to love teasing the big guy…" Geoffrey said to himself, turning around in time to meet Fox, who gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"That was some pretty good sword work out there. Where did you learn it?" Fox asked. He couldn't see the fight, per se, but his ability to feel the air being cut and pushed about by the combatants gave him enough information as he inquired "You stood your ground very well, and using your scabbard alongside your blade certainly doesn't seem like something normally taught in regular sword training."

Geoffrey nodded his head as he told the faunus "It's a trick I learned from my uncle. He runs a dojo that specializes in teaching some of the older swordfighting techniques, He doesn't take many students, but I was able to learn from him for many years, all the way up to when Professor Qrow picked me up. I kinda get to thank Uncle Kenshin for teaching me most of my fighting techniques."

Fox gave a warm smile as he said "Well then I'm glad you had a good teacher, since I really enjoyed seeing that kid get his rear handed to him."

"Yes, it was enjoyable, though I'll admit I would've preferred an opponent with some more skill." Geoffrey said off-handedly, followed by the sound of heels coming their way. Fox was already turning to leave, forcing Geoffrey to fend for himself.

Sighing, Geoffrey turned to the sounds and said "Coco, please don't tell me you're going to fight me twice in one day."

The well-dressed woman lowered her aviators and stared at him, causing the ronin to look up slightly as he was made all too aware of the fact that her heels made her a few inches taller than him.

"I see your fighting style has changed." she said flatly, revealing to him that she had witnessed the fight "You've also gained quite a bit of restraint compared to when I last saw you fight at Signal."

"Yes…" Geoffrey said warily, unsure of where she was going with the comments. "I finally got past some of my bone headedness and realized being a defensive fighter would complement my semblance better."

"So you've pretty much become a tank then?" Coco questioned, her eyes boring into him, causing him to stare back at her as he could see the anger and frustration in her eyes, but also a degree of...respect, maybe?

"Yes, if that's what you want to call it." Geoffrey answered her.

She kept staring at him for a few moments, like some form of mental mexican stand-off, his gaze flickering down to notice she was tapping her box rather persistently, before the leader of Team CVFY pushed her glasses back up and gave a sigh, shaking her head before she finally seemed to get to her point.

"I still don't like you, courtesy of our history, and to be frank I still feel a great temptation to shove a heel up your ass, but between your defensive fighting skills and the fact that you were willing to stand up for Velvet back there...I think I'm gonna regret this, but I'm willing to give you a spot on the team. Yatsu's our only defensive team member, and seeing as the rest of us prefer to go on the offensive, I think the team would benefit from your skills.

Pulling his weapon from his belt, Geoffrey used the weapon almost like a cane as he set it down in front of him, before he answered his old flame.

"I can certainly appreciate the offer, though I hope that doesn't change the fact that I want you to make sure I can work with your team. I'd rather you be harsh and make sure I'm an asset rather than make me a detriment to your team."

Looking to the side for a moment, staring at the retreating back of Yatsuhashi on the far side of the courtyard, the warrior took a breath and carefully thought over his words before he continued.

"I know I wasn't a great person a few years back, and I certainly don't think I'm that much better than before, but for the sake of your team, would you be willing to have both of us just clear our slates over all the baggage and start out fresh? As acquaintances? I'd rather not have our old problems causes new problems now, especially for Yatsu's sake, and for the team."

The fashionista took her glasses off, folding them up as she stared him down again, her face contorting slightly as she looked at him with a thoughtful expression, an eyebrow raised as she considered his proposal.

"I can accept that…" she said slowly, her eyes still harshly gazing on him. "...On the condition that if you have a problem you come talk to me about it first, especially if it has anything to do with the team. If we want to avoid repeating the past, communication is something I want to have fixed now rather than later."

Jerking her head over her shoulder at the form of Cardin, she said "If anyone's causing a problem for my teammates, tell me about it. If you're having a problem, tell me about it. I'll extend you the same courtesy the other way around, and make sure any complaints from the team or myself about you is received _promptly_."

Geoffrey felt a little insulted by how she put emphasis on that last word, but he nodded his head slowly before extending a hand to her.

"Well, nobody ever said the path to progress was fast, or easy for that matter."

Coco shook his hand, the feeling of his fingers being squished together reminding Geoffrey of her upper body strength as he spread his fingers enough to relieve some of the pressure from them, and to remind her that he wasn't as weak as he was before.

"For once I can agree with you on that." Coco said with a rather cold-hearted tone, though if he wasn't imagining things Geoffrey could've sworn he saw her smile for a brief moment before returning to what he now considered her signature frown.

Her lips that curled into a smirk as she said "And as the newest member on the team, I'll take great enjoyment in torturing you for the weeks to come."

Geoffrey could already feel a bead of sweat started rolling down his neck as he said "Ummm, do I want to know what the means?"

Meanwhile, in one of the halls of Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin looked at his scroll at the various camera's that were floating around the academy, all of them mounted in small security drones he had designed by General Ironwood himself to help him keep track of people in the school, and he smirked as he caught the latest exchange between the new transfer and the leader of Team CVFY.

"This is going to be as interesting as watching some of the first years. I'll have to remind myself to record some of this later." he said to himself with a thin smile, before shutting off the camera.

 **Well, chapter four is up faster than I was expecting. Anyway's, criticism, reviews, compliments, feel free to drop some of them by as I work on trying to keep this story going. And if anyone catches the two references I made to popular franchises, kudo's to you!**


	5. Settling In and Baggage

Chapter 5: Settling In and Baggage

 ** _"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao Tzu_**

Geoffrey Kuribayashi leaned against one of the pillars in the meeting hall, his gaze scanning the wave of first year students with mild interest as he already regretted agreeing with Coco.

She had insisted he stay behind with the first years to obtain his experience of a full Beacon welcome, and suffice to say he also had a feeling that she wanted to seek council with the rest of the team without him snooping around.

Sighing, he saw Professor Qrow's nieces talking excitedly off to the side, the combination of bright yellow hair and rosy red cloak being two bright spots within the sea of clothes and armor. He briefly noted one of the other females he had seen earlier, the one with the bow and black and white clothes, following his example on the other side of the hall, her back also to a pillar and scanning the crowd. He had no doubt that she was keeping an eye on him, and casually reminded himself to find out more about the woman when the opportunity arose.

His thinking about why the woman was shocked and fearful of the brawl outside was suddenly interrupted by a familiar face arriving in the room. Headmaster Ozpin walking in slowly and gracefully as another, a woman with reading glasses, well kept blonde hair, and a cloak followed him in.

Ozpin tapped on a microphone for a moment, clearing his throat, before he spoke, causing the young man to turn his attention to the famous Hunter and listen to what he had to say.

"I'll...make this a short talk. I expect you all have gathered here in search of knowledge, with dreams of learning how to hone your craft and perfect and acquire new skills. And with this new arsenal, I expect you all to do nothing short of dedicating your life to the protection of the people. When I look upon you, I see many hidden talents, skill waiting to be harnessed by none other than yourself with the guidance of our school. But as of now, until next year, consider yourself no more than wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. Some of you will assume that knowledge will free of this, but knowledge can only carry you so far...It is up to you to take the first step."

The woman next to Ozpin moved from behind the headmaster, taking over for him as she said sternly, " You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins, be ready. You are all dismissed."

Geoffrey shrugged his shoulders as he knew he wouldn't have to prepare for such an event, having been exempt from it both due to transferring in, as well as Qrow apparently giving Ozpin quite a few reasons why a trip into the Emerald Forest would do little more than leave a pile of dead Grimm laying about.

Turning away from the freshmen, the ronin headed away to the locker rooms, intent on putting away the rest of his combat gear before settling into his room.

Meanwhile, Glynda was furious with Ozpin as they walked down the halls of Beacon back to his office.

"You're telling me you let the new transfer student get in a fight with one of the first-years? You could've gotten one of them killed!"

"But neither of them are, Miss Goodwitch. And I must say based off the footage that Mr. Kuribayashi showed a surprising level of restraint on Mr. Winchester. If he hadn't stopped Mr. Daichi from starting the fight, your worries may have actually come true."

"But they still require disciplinary action, the both of them!" the blonde teacher insisted, furious at how nonchalantly her friend was taking this.

"Maybe, though in due honesty I would say the punishment has already been dealt out."

"How?" Glynda asked, stopping and crossing her arms at the man as she sarcastically thought to herself how he could possibly explain away this whole fiasco.

"Mr. Winchester is currently in the infirmary until morning, and will be released in time for the initiation with a couple bruises and a nasty headache from that concussion he got. That should be punishment enough for being verbally and physically racist to a faunus, Miss Scarletina of Team CVFY to be precise, and for a first offense I actually think Mr. Kuribayashi did a fair job of meting out justice for it."

"And with our local ronin?" Miss Goodwitch insisted.

"He has unofficially joined with Team CVFY." Ozpin told her with a smirk.

"How in Oum's name is that a punishment?" Goodwitch finally responded with a snarl, a hand going to her riding crop in irritation. "A good beatdown sounds far better than a slap on the wrist!"

Ozpin, however, raised a finger at her, causing her to pause long enough for him to say, "What you do not realize, however, is if you conveniently read a combination of Mr. Kuribayashi's file, and a note from our good friend Qrow, that our ronin had a relationship with the current team leader of Team CVFY, one that ended on a rather sour note, and by agreeing to join the team has now officially signed his soul away to his ex-girlfriend. I'm sure you are well aware of Miss Adele's methods of torture?"

The teacher looked at him, dumbfounded for a moment, her jaw slightly agape in a manner unfitting for a woman like her, before she said "Wait, the ronin, and the fashionista...dated? How did that even happen? Dust, how did that even get started?"

Ozpin shrugged his shoulders as he gave a chuckle and said "That's a mystery for another day, Glynda. Instead, I'll simply enjoy all the footage I can record of Mr. Kuribayashi being run ragged by his old flame."

A glint came across Glynda's eyes before her tone changed to a voice a lot more sympathetic to the ear.

"Can I get a look at those recordings when your done? Seeing a student held in such high regard by that drunkard get turned into a pack mule will do wonders to maintaining my sanity."

Walking into the locker room, Geoffrey actually appreciated how nondescript it was, simply rows of modified lockers designed to hold arms and armor of various designs, as well as some metal benches to sit down on while donning such equipment.

Walking up to the locker assigned to him, the man was actually thankful the large wooden crate that was shipped to the school had actually arrived at his assigned locker, verifying it was his by the distinct cursive signature he had carved into the wood with one of his own blades.

Opening up the locker, Geoffrey busied himself by setting up some metal hooks inside the locker before gently settling piece after piece of armor inside the storage unit.

Interwoven metal plates rustled as they were laid into the locker, the designs easily seen as similar to kikko and o-yoroi designs of his ancestors, the armor woven tightly together and made of a combination of reinforced steel and kevlar woven into the design to provide moderate ballistic protection. Comprised of a breastplate, backplate, arm and shoulder pieces and armor for his waist and calves, the dark blue armor gleamed dully within the locker. With leather boots showing a slight change in the design, it was also interesting to note that he pushed his hands into four small pouches on the front of his chest plate, verifying he could put four rifle magazines into them before patting the pouches flat again, finally pulling a heavy, black bag out of the bottom of the crate and settling it in the spot where a helmet would go. He had to resist the urge to pull out the contents of the bag, a slight chill going down his spine as he turned away and closed the locker up, nearly drawing his sword in surprise as he wasn't expecting someone to already be standing not even three lockers down from him with a curious look on his face.

Geoffrey looked the person over, taking in that the man had long black hair tied back into a ponytail, with a rather conspicuous streak of purple or magenta in his hair. He also wore a dark green coat and tan pants, the design on the coat giving him memories of the clothes he saw around his uncles dojo.

The man waved a hand at him, seemingly unfazed by his rather cautious and sudden reaction to knowing someone was around him before he started to talk to him.

"Sorry if I disturbed you, just stopped by to put my weapons away before heading to the main hall."

The boy brought his hands down to his hips, drawing a pair of green pistols from the sides of his coat, the weapons looking rather interesting in design, especially with the set of blades locked back on the bottom of the frames of the pistols. The man put the weapons in his own locker before returning his attention to Geoffrey.

"My names Lie Ren, though everyone just calls me Ren." He extended his hand for a handshake, finally giving the ronin enough reason to remove his hand from his own weapon and accept the handshake.

"Geoffrey Kuribayashi, nice to meet you."

Shaking his hand, Ren smiled a little as he said "Ah, the Cherry Blossom Ronin? A pleasure to meet you in person. Some of my family members have said great things of the Kamiya Kasshin Dojo."

Taken aback, Geoffrey said "You know of the dojo?"

Ren chuckled as he said "Well, practitioner's of the traditional martial arts are few and far between, so my sensei at my school has built quite a rapport with your sensei. They shared techniques between schools in order to keep our practices alive. If it weren't for that my weapons would have ended up being a lot more mundane."

"Interesting. So from my guess the pistols are designed to function as kama's then?"

"Yes, of course." Ren nodded. "Your one of the first to get that right. And I assume your katana can turn into something with a little more punch?"

"An assault rifle, yes." Geoffrey said with a small smirk as he patted the hilt of his weapon. "Took me a few months to get it right, but it fits in there."

"Certainly a marvelous miracle of engineering indeed." Ren responded, before he looked down at his watch.

"Well, it's time for me to go, got things to do at the hall. It was certainly nice to meet you."

"And you as well, Ren. Hopefully I'll see you in some of our classes." Geoffrey suggested as Ren turned away to walk out.

"I hope so, it'll be interesting to see your fighting style at work."

After Ren departed Geoffrey turned around to lock up his locker, a smile dancing across his face as he then departed to unpack his belongings in his own room.

The room was modestly sized, enough for a queen sized bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet. There was a small bathroom off to the side, and overall Geoffrey had the feeling the room was meant for visitors rather than students.

The room didn't stop him from getting comfy, as he unpacked his things, stowing most of his clothes into the closet, giving a snort as he noticed the four dark red student uniforms he knew he would have to wear hanging from the closet hangers. Peering into one of the jackets, he shook his head as he could read the label and recognize it was sized for him as well.

"Damnit Qrow, sometimes I don't know if you're sincere or just creepy when it comes to some of this shit." he muttered to himself before finishing putting most of his clothes in the closet. He then proceeded to stuff his nightwear into a drawer within his dresser before looking into the bathroom, confirming his suspicions of it being a visitors room at the towels and complimentary soap sitting in the bathroom.

Setting a large storage box by the foot of his bed, he pulled out a tall stand and set it next to his bed, slipping Fukyu no Doragon off his belt and letting the weapon rest on the stand before turning around and grabbing the last of his personal effects.

He was just finishing plugging his scroll and laptop into the wall to charge when he heard a knock on the door.

Heading to the door, Geoffrey opened it to see his cousin, causing him to raise a head a little and say "What can I do for you, Big Man?"

"Well I came to stop by and ask if you were interested in having dinner with the team." Yatsuhashi explained with a smile. "Velvet thought it would be a nice way to get each other introduced better, and she decided we could try a sushi bar in town."

"Sushi?" Geoffrey asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now since when did I ever refuse a chance to eat sushi?"

Yatsu gave a larger smile as he said "Perfect, then we'll see you in the courtyard in an hour."

As the big man turned around to leave, the ronin gave a smirk as he said "I'll be there, just don't cause another scene around your partner like last time," before he slapped him on the rear.

Yatsuhashi seemed to freeze like a deer in the headlights.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he initially managed to say, before asking "And please don't tell me you learned that from Coco."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that your illustrious leader made me one of her first victims to that hand of hers, and I will neither confirm nor deny some payback is nice, especially when I know her arms are a lot stronger than mine." the student said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"You sick human being." Yatsuhashi retorted with a glare.

"All's fair in love and war." Geoffrey replied with a smile. "And since I lost the love, I can now afford to win the war."

Turning around to face him, the larger tank crossed his arms and questioned him. "You're not going to let your history with Coco affect your spot on the team, are you?"

Raising his arms above his head in a sign of defeat, Geoffrey kept a solemn look as he said "Why of course not, we both agreed to put our differences aside for the sake of your guys."

He then gave a smile as he then added "But since she did say she intended to torture me during the immediate future, that just means I'm also allowed to return the favor."

Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure if his cousin was bullshitting him or not, before he finally shrugged and said "Well let's just hope you two don't end up tearing each others throats out by the end of the semester."

"I doubt it." Geoffrey said as Yatsuhashi turned around to leave again. "It'll be more like one of us will be turned into swiss cheese and the other will be sliced up like a fresh ham."

"You're incorrigible." Yatsuhashi muttered before he heard the door click into the closed position.

A ringing noise from the scroll was the next thing to catch Geoffrey's attention as he stepped out of the shower, still having a half hour to go before he had to leave for the courtyard. For a moment he wondered if it was the scroll telling him all his music had finished downloading, before realizing it was actually a phone call and walked over to his scroll wondering who it could be.

He cursed as he blinked profusely as he picked up the scroll, not bothering to read the caller ID as he answered it.

"So how's your first day at Beacon, eh kid?" A familiar voice on the other end of the line asked.

"It's been...interesting." Geoffrey answered, a little wary as he said "You had Ozpin set me up on the one team that happened to have both my cousin and my ex, didn't you?"

"What can I say, it was a humorous excuse to conduct an experiment." Qrow explained to him. "Lure you in with the bait, and then see whether or not you'd walk out alive or not."

"Haha, very funny." Geoffrey retorted sarcastically as he walked back into the bathroom. He fumbled around for one of his contacts before he felt it and slowly started to put it onto his eye. "I'm sure you would be glad to hear that she tried to kill me before she shook my hand and agreed to a truce before proceeding to let me know I'm going to be tortured for the immediate future."

"Don't ya worry about that Geoff, she's just preparing you for the wonderful world of relationships." A snicker could easily be heard over the line before he heard another voice telling Qrow to quiet down. Popping in his other contact lens, Geoffrey felt a grin cross his face as his tone changed.

"Oh, is my hearing going bad, or do I hear a Schnee back there?" he replied, a chuckle entering his voice.

"I don't know what you are talking about, apprentice." Qrow replied, the sound of a swig of alcohol going down being heard on the scroll.

"So I'm going to assume you're on another mission with your favorite partner, alone?" The smile on his face turned into a cheshire cat grin.

"That is confidential information you have no need to worry about." Another swig of liquor to punctuate the silence.

"Still going at it like two stags during mating season, making jabs and insults to hide behind?" Geoffrey pried, enjoying how he already had a feeling he was pissing his mentor off.

"I suggest you watch what you say, before I start reconsidering your spot in Beacon."

"Okay, just make sure you don't do anything Ironwood wouldn't approve of between you two." he finished with a laugh, before adding "Unless you want to intentionally piss him off, that is."

There was a spat of yelling on the other line, followed by a few seconds of silence before Qrow finally said "I hate it when you get the rare opportunity to get the cogs in my brain rolling again. I'll call back again later, I've got some Nevermore nests that need to get cleaned up."

The line then shut off as Geoffrey set the scroll down and threw on a robe, smiling as he said to himself "I swear to Oum Qrow needs to make a move or else he's gonna stay a lone drunkard."

He knew Qrow wasn't one to delve into his personal life, but every once in awhile he'd let the facade of the drunk hunter go down long enough for him to let Geoffrey throw a few jabs in, both for kicks and to remind himself that his mentor is in fact a human being.

Checking his watch, Geoffrey made sure his kimono was one of the cleaner ones before grabbing his katana, sliding it into the silk loop belt around his waist before walking to the door.

He almost made it to the knob when he felt something slip out of the inside pocket, falling to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, as he felt the floodgates of memories tear open again as he stared at the picture on the floor.

It wasn't particularly special from the scenery, just four people posing for a shot around a table in a restaurant, all of them sharing a toast as someone took the shot.

He gave a laugh at the short man on the far left, who looked almost like a dwarf from the old fairy tales with his short black beard, slowly receding hairline, and roundedness, though the large ax on his belt and leather armor attested to his prowess. His beady eyes and tanned skin displayed a sign of humour and playfulness, something Geoffrey remembered all those years as the reason he was able to avoid becoming a pessimist for so long during those years.

A tall female sat on the far right, her slender and thin frame enhancing her faunus features as her dark green hair, combined with her golden irises and forked tongue revealed the snake in her. Her longbow laid unstrung against a quiver of arrows, leaned up against the side of the booth, a brown tunic and pants accenting her preference towards the bow. He remembered that no matter how good a shot he was with a rifle, he had seen her pull off harder shots even better than he could shoot for, and he remembered all too well the stacks of Grimm that had fallen to her arrows.

Finally, he felt his eyes tear up as he stared at the third person sitting next to a younger, happier version of himself, both of them toasting with grins on their faces. She was an inch or two shorter than him, her skin as pale as the moon, but the two doe ears peeking out of her long brown waves of hair and the thin but surprisingly powerful muscles underneath her blue shirt reminded him of the terrible events from years ago, how those very muscles were shredded, her ears tattered, and worst of all recalling how her bell like laugh, her nonchalant leadership ending as fast as it had started. The final piece was staring at a long spear resting next to her, a rather sturdy affair with a six foot pole and a massive broadhead. His memories recalled seeing that same weapon, snapped into pieces, as broken as its wielder.

He muttered their names under his breath, struggling to regain his composure.

"Modne Stonebreaker, the Hammer of Atlas. Gwendolyn Reuse, the Ranger of Mistral. And Shurui Doe, the Spearhead of Vacuo…"

He put the picture away, shoving the memories and feeling away, at least temporarily as he got to his feet.

Opening the door, he looked at the floor, his heart torn before he said "Your lives….Team MSSG will not have been in vain. I will never forget, but in order to heal, I must...move on. I can't cling to the past forever."

The door closed, the light from the hallway fading away, only to be replaced by the patches of light that swept into the room from the open window, the moon taking the artificial lights place.

 **Hello again, sorry for taking so long! Gonna try and get another chapter done in a week, no promises though. And to answer my reviewer, I honestly have no idea whether or not I want to get Geoffrey and Coco back together again. I've toyed with both sides of letting them get together or stay apart, and I'm still undecided, so I'll most likely surprise you guys with that in the future. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and feedback would certainly be welcome!**


	6. Sushi and a Barfight

Chapter 6: Sushi and a Barfight

Geoffrey took a deep breath upon entering the main courtyard, the cool air allowing him to relax a little as he readjusted the sword on his waist and continued to walk, taking a rather slow, relaxing stroll as he saw movement ahead of him, a few figures moving around a Bullhead that from the looks of it seemed anxious at his arrival.

He thought about the irony of it all, how it seemed all too familiar to how he had ran into the people that would later become his first team at Signal; Modne getting pissed off at Gwen for attempting to filch his ax from his belt before they were going to board a Bullhead into town, and then Shurui trying to break the two of them up as a peacemaker. He smiled at the memory, before shaking it away, knowing full well if he kept dredging up the past enough he may never leave it behind.

Unsurprisingly he saw that none of Team CVFY had changed out of their normal attire, though from the looks of it Yatsuhashi and Fox had decided to leave their weapons behind. He was tempted to ask Velvet about what her weapon actually was when he felt a chill go down his spine when he saw Coco hefting her signature handbag, the device giving him quite a few memories of the Grimm it had slain and the Huntsmen and women it had defeated in its career.

The ronin gave a casual wave to the quartet, already expecting their responses as Yatsuhashi returned the greeting while Velvet came up to him with a smile.

"Thank's for coming along. It was mostly my idea to have us all go out into town for dinner as a way to get to know you better."

Giving a chuckle, Geoffrey gave the faunus a smile as he reassured her, "No problem, besides, I never turn down good sushi."

"I was assuming so, since Coco and Yatsu told me as such." The faunus replied with a laugh, before gesturing to the Bullhead, it's engines humming as Coco turned and told the pilot they were going to board.

The five warriors climbed aboard, the vehicle taking off into the evening sky with a dull roar, its engines propelling it forward at a far faster pace than the airships docked at the landing pads as it headed into downtown Vale.

Geoffrey looked out the side, the wind whistling past them as he gazed out into the city, its lights glimmering a variety of shades and hues as human and faunus bustled about below, going about their lives like everything was normal, even while Grimm slunk around in the woods and deserted buildings outside the main city.

The city reminded him a little of Patch, of the small port-city that also held Signal Academy, and of the people he had met and interacted with on a regular basis. In some ways he missed it, but on the other hand, the Hunter inside of him tingled in excitement at what was below him; new territory, unexplored territory that he would have to navigate and come to grips with in the future, something he knew he would take great enjoyment in.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Fox tapping him on the shoulder, saying over the sound of the engines roaring "We're landing. Pilot should be picking us up in a few hours."

The ronin nodded in understanding, stepping back a little as the craft came to a landing on one of the smaller landing pads in downtown, the entire team disembarking quickly as Velvet seemed excited to get them all out into town.

"It should only be a couple blocks this way." The rabbit faunus told them energetically as she pointed down a direction of the street. Yatsuhashi seemed the only one to give an enthusiastic response as Fox put his hands in his pockets and casually strolled after them, leaving Geoffrey to walk in the back with Coco a few paces in front of him.

Coco glanced over her shoulder once to make sure he was keeping up before continuing on her way, strolling gracefully in her heels, the handbag waving in a forward and backward motion, something that in Geoffrey's mind signaled an alarm in his head.

' _She must be really itching to beat someone's ass with that if she brought Caffeine along…'_ He thought to himself, once again being reminded of various violent images caused by the exact item being swung in her hand at that very moment.

"So what are you brooding about this time?" Coco asked, breaking him out of his thoughts and causing the young man to answer her.

"Oh, just how you must be in a foul mood if you decided you needed to drag Caffeine along for the trip." He told her casually, picking up the pace enough to fall into step with the leader of the team.

"Well you never know if you want to randomly cause a fight in a bar." Coco answered just as casually, her aviators hiding a rather mischievous gleam in them. "Taking my frustrations out with a hundred plus pound bag is a great way to relieve stress."

"I would assume so, considering that time you crushed a beowolf's skull in with her. Took me days just to help you wipe the blood off the barrels." He was being sarcastic about it, but the memory caused Coco to give a smirk.

"What can I say, I enjoy making a good entrance. And I may have actually preferred you had left some of the blood behind on Caffeine, it would've given her some character."

Geoffrey decided it was best to just shut up at that point, awkwardly walking next to her as they followed the rest of the team to the sushi bar.

Surprisingly enough to the newest member of the team the place wasn't particularly crowded when they showed up to it, the bar being a quaint little hole in the wall kind of place as he noted the old neon sign hanging from the front and the front door that was jammed open for customers.

Letting Coco go in first, he noted upon entering that it was more like a club than just a restaurant. With a bar lined up on the side and a few tables in the middle of the room, the far end seemed to just be a couple mats and a rather large karaoke machine, already giving him the image that this place was meant for rowdy college students rather than hunters and huntresses.

Coco had just taken her seat, and Velvet gestured for him to sit down at an empty seat she had saved for him, obliging her by setting himself down between Velvet and Fox as the bar man came up to greet them.

"What'cha feeling up to?" The man greeted them, polishing some shot glasses as he said "I'm guessing you're also here for some food?"

"Yes, we're here for five orders of the all-you-can-eat sushi you advertised for Friday nights." Velvet said enthusiastically.

"Well, guess you'll be the start of my evening then." The older man said jokingly, setting the glasses down before starting to pull out a cutting board and some knives. "Anything to start with."

"Five orders of sashimi and miso soup." Yatsuhashi interjected, raising his hand and spreading his fingers to accentuate his point.

"Coming right up." The barman answered, proceeding to start with the food. Glancing over his shoulder at Geoffrey, the man said casually "I'm assuming you'll have your usual of a plate of unagi sashimi and a cup of green tea?"

"Yup, and you don't have to worry about the idiot always ordering the bottle of sake all the time." Geoffrey told him with a smirk, causing the man to smile at him.

"Thank Oum, I was starting to get tired of him."

Velvet turned to Geoffrey with a curious look on her face. "You know him? And the bar?"

"Well what can I say, when I enjoy sushi enough I'll find where all the sushi places are at, especially after Qrow finishes up a mission and insists on stopping for a drink." As he said that the barman had set down a set of bowls filled with miso soup in front of them before returning to making sashimi at a breakneck speed.

"Why am I not surprised." Coco said sarcastically, before grabbing the bowl of miso soup set in front of her and proceeded to consume it rather quickly, downing it in a few gulps and asking for another before the rest of the team could even pick up their own bowls.

Rolling his eyes at the team leader, Geoffrey returned his attention to the barman, who after a few minutes seemed to have just finished his first batch of sashimi and was setting the plates down in front of them.

"Well the fast service never hurts either." The hunter said aloud as he took a sip of his green tea, savoring the taste as the rest of the team tore into their sashimi. Once his place of unagi sashimi showed up in front of him, he joined them as he tore into them with relish.

Yatsuhashi watched him from the corner of his eye, seeming to study him for a few moments at a time as the group ate, gauging his actions and thinking over how he was going to fit in with the team. Even though he had been reassured that he and Coco had set their differences aside, he still felt unsure of how true that was. Then again, they weren't trying to kill each other, which certainly was an improvement from the morning.

He was just about to turn away too, when he saw Geoffrey freeze momentarily, chewing on a sashimi roll slowly before relaxing a little and glancing towards the door.

He followed suit, following his cousins gaze towards the door. What both of them saw caused them to do a double take, knowing for a fact something seemed off.

It wasn't exactly the person walking in per se, who had bright orange hair, a brilliantly white coat, a matching cane, and a black and red bowler hat, but rather the half dozen questionable characters that followed him in, all of them wearing black and red suits, black fedoras' and shades, and nasty looking pistols on their hips.

Fox tensed a little, picking up the feeling that Geoffrey and Yatsuhashi were on their guard, though he kept eating his food.

Velvet glanced up at the newcomers, eying them for a moment before returning to drinking her tea,

Coco, however, looked over her aviators, gave a small smile, before returning to her food.

The man walked up to the bar, resting his arms on the counter next to where Coco was eating, before whistling for the barman.

"Hey, you got any bottles of sake back there? I'd like to grab one or two for the road, ya know?"

"Well, I've got a couple here behind the counter…" The barman started to say, before the man swung himself over the counter, a smile on his face as he responded "Perfect! Then you won't mind me just grabbing a couple to go then!"

The stranger had already grabbed a pair of bottles and held them by the necks between his fingers, and had just finished swinging himself over the counter again when he suddenly found himself splayed across the floor, the bottles rolling across the floor as he registered a really painful throbbing sensation across the back of his head.

Turning to see what was the cause of it, he was surprised to see that the culprit was the female that was next to him during the exchange, swinging a rather large handbag casually.

"Stealing isn't nice, you know." Coco told him nonchalantly, the bag swinging in a continuous circle as she turned to face him.

"Great, first the kid in the cloak, now the girl with fashion tastes…" the male said to himself, slowly getting to his feet, leveling his cane at her before saying "Whoever said I was nice? Especially when now I have an excuse for my friends here to give some payback."

He didn't even have to say a word as the half dozen cohorts in crime advanced into the bar, pulling out a mixture of blades off their hips or pistols from their coats.

As if it was perfectly normal, Geoffrey turned to the bar man and asked "Does the karaoke machine have bluetooth?"

Surprised by the question, the bar man fumbled for a response before answering with "Well yes...but why…?"

"Just a guess." Geoffrey replied with a grin before he pulled his Scroll out and linked into the machine, pulling up a song and pressing play right in time to see Coco roll her neck, cracking it before she peered over her aviators, the first notes of an electric guitar blaring out before she said "I'm so going to enjoy this…"

 _I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_

 _You're living in the past, it's a new generation_

 _A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do_

Coco swung her bag at the first guy, nailing him in the gut and throwing him off his feet long enough to swing a haymaker across his jaw, sending him crashing into a table. A second minion swung his blade, only to have it slide off the handbag and get swept off his feet as Coco kicked her leg out and swept the floor with it, knocking him off his feet and causing her to transition into a roll to the side, narrowly avoiding a trio of bullets from a pistol as she ended up in the face of another man and grabbed her handbag with both hands, bringing it up and slamming it into the guy's jaw, knocking him out like a light as he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Fox and Yatsuhashi were already starting to get out of their seats before they heard a whistle. They both turned to look at Geoffrey, who stayed in his seat, relaxed but also keeping a hand on the pommel of his sword.

"She'll be fine, especially since she's letting off some steam. If it get's bad I'll be the first to let you know."

They were both reluctant but eventually started to sit back down as the chorus hit.

 _An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_

 _Oh no no no no no no, Not me me me me me_

 _An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_

 _Never said I wanted to improve my station_

 _An' I'm only doin' good when I'm havin' fun_

 _An' I don't have to please no one_

The man in the coat and bowler hat snarled at his hired help being completely incompetent for the second time in one night as Coco send another man flying, the body crashing through one of the storefront windows and ending up in a heap in the street as the last two looked at each other and seemed ready to turn around and run as Coco turned to both of them and said sweetly "Now which do you prefer, a knuckle sandwich or a handbag to the jewels?"

They both looked at each other again and promptly made their way at a dead sprint for the door, their employer sighing in resignation as he said "Competent help is so hard to come by these days. Guess it just means if you want the job done you've just gotta do it yourself."

Coco's smile turned into a feral grin as she said "Damn right, especially when I want to smash you to a pulp for ruining my night out."

The man smiled in response to the insult and pointed his cane at her, a gunsight popping up as he said "Sorry to disappoint, but that won't be tonight."

 _An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation_

 _Oh no no no no no, not me me me me me, oh no no no no no, not me me me me me_

 _I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation_

 _I've never been afraid of any deviation_

 _An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange_

 _I aint gonna change_

He fired, a rocket shooting across the short span of distance surprisingly quickly, Coco raising her bag just in time to have her weapon catch the explosive head-on, throwing her back against the counter, winded.

She hadn't even looked up before Fox and Geoffrey were immediate off of their stools, charging at the assailant with retribution in their eyes before the man seemed to drop something, smoke filling the room immediately as the two of them paused in their assault, looking around to assess the situation. A minute later, Fox said quietly "He fled. I can't hear him, no footsteps, no breathing. He most likely went out the window or through the back door, using the karaoke machine music as a cover for his escape."

Coco swore under her breath as she said "But I wanted to slug that bastard in the face."

"There'll be a next time, Coco Puff." Geoffrey said with a sigh, now annoyed that his little joke with the music had backfired.

What he wasn't expecting, or to be more precise he was expecting but hadn't exactly come up with a solution to solve it with was Coco promptly turning her handbag into a Gatling gun again and leveling it at him, her eyes glaring daggers at him.

"Don't you EVER fucking call me that again!" She spat at him. The barrels starting to whirl.

"Wait a minute, you were called Coco Puff?" Fox asked, confused. "Isn't that a breakfast cereal?"

Neither of them had time to answer as they suddenly heard a loud laugh, couple with some snorting and fist pounding. Turning to see the source of it, Coco was surprised that of all people it was Velvet who was breaking down into fits of laughter.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" Coco demanded, trying her best not to look like a fool in front of her, though the heat rising in her cheeks wasn't helping her at all.

"He called you...Coco Puff? Was he...coo-coo for you?" Was all she got out of her mouth before she fell off the stool in a heap of laughter and snorting, causing Yatsuhashi to bend over and ask with concern written on his face "Are you okay, Velv?"

"Wow, I wasn't expecting her to find it _that_ funny…" Geoffrey said from the side, causing Coco to react by staring back at him, seemingly reluctant as she lowered her weapon before she said quietly "I'm gonna have a talk with you when we get back."

He could feel a bead of sweat drop as he knew he was gonna be in a world of hurt.

"So...umm….not to be rude...but who's gonna clean this place up now?" The bar man asked quietly, his face peeking out from behind the counter.

Coco gave another sigh, bringing a hand up to massage her forehead before she added "After we clean this place up."

* * *

 **And that is another chapter for you guys! Thought I will admit, I feel like it didn't have quite the same quality I would have liked as the previous ones. Just a heads up too, I've been getting a busier and busier schedule as of late, so I can't say for certain when I'll get another chapter up, though I will say that at the very latest it'll be up by the end of April. BTW, feel free to review, send construction criticism, etc, it really helps me self assess myself and look at different ways to improve my writing as I go along.**


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